Tourism businesses in the Bow Valley, both established and those still in the startup-phase, have the opportunity to take their great idea to the next level with an upcoming live crowdfunding event.
The ATB BoostR stage pitch event is taking place in Banff on Oct. 21 and is well-timed to occur the day before a Travel Alberta tourism industry conference.
Business development lead and brand ambassador for ATB BoostR Stephan Becker said the goal of the event is to provide an opportunity for tourism-based businesses to pitch their ideas and for them to access funds.
“ATB BoostR is what we call a rewards-based crowdfunding platform hosted by ATB Financial,” Becker said. “One of the reasons we do this, is we are a bank for entrepreneurs and BoostR is a tool to build entrepreneurship.
“What is different about BoostR is we do more than just crowdfunding, we do exposure and one of those things is the BoostR stage event.”
The event, which is what is happening in Banff, gives six entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their idea to those attending and a panel that provides feedback and mentorship. The event is in addition to online crowdfunding that ATB offers businesses looking to develop an idea.
Each entrepreneur chosen is paired with an advisor in advance, and Becker said it is recommended the company have at least two weeks on the crowdfunding site before pitching at a live event.
At the event, like the one to occur in Banff, the six businesses are able to access a portion of a $5,000 pot of money. The crowd gets to vote by text on its preferred idea, and the money is distributed based on how the audience reacts to the pitch each business makes live.
“What we get out of this is that ATB is the bank for entrepreneurs … we are trying to build a relationship with them,” he said. “Crowdfunding itself is a well used type of funding and we are not the first ones out there.”
ATB provides the online platform for entrepreneurs, and those who wish to fund the campaigns. Typically, campaigns offer a reward for financial support, and Becker said ATB doesn’t take a third party fee for processing the credit card transactions that occur if a campaign reaches its goal. Only campaigns that reach a goal actually move forward on the website. Those that don’t, said Becker, also get valuable feedback about their idea.
Businesses can raise money, test ideas, gain exposure and learn about the market they are trying to enter through the BoostR platform and in exchange they offer the reward.
“There are a lot of startups in the tourism industry,” Becker said. “Small to medium sized businesses in the industry could potentially use the help of a crowdfunding campaign to get their business further.”
ATB has hosted BoostR stage events focused on different industry sectors such as health and wellness, post secondary and social enterprise. Becker said tourism investment is clearly on the agenda in Alberta, with the government focused on reaching a goal of $10.3 billion in visitor spending in the province by 2020. Currently, visitation accounts for $7 billion in spending each year for Alberta and almost half of that occurs in Rocky Mountain destinations.
Go to atbbooster.ca for more information on the program or to register a campaign.
